The nation's economy. GNP. Economic indicators.

Economists study different sides of the economy in different ways. Microeconomics is the part of economics that analyses specific data affecting an economy. Macroeconomics is the branch of economics that analyses interrelationships among sectors of the economy.

Macroeconomists measure gross national product, or GNP, which is the value of all goods and services produced for sale during one year. Three factors limit the types of products counted.

First, only goods and services produced during a specific year are counted Second, economists count a product or a service only in its final form. Third, GNP includes only goods sold for the first time. When goods are resold or transferred, no wealth is created.

One way in which economists measure GNP is the flow-of-product approach. Using this method, they count all the money spent on goods and services to determine total value. Each time a new product is sold, GNP increases.

Spending for products falls into four categories. The first, and the largest, consumer spending, includes all expenditures of individuals for final goods and services. Called personal consumption expenditures, this category accounts for about 65 per cent of GNP. The second category includes all spending of businesses for new capital goods. It accounts for about 13 % of GNP. The third category includes spending of all levels of government. Government purchases of goods and services account for about 21 per cent of GNP. The fourth category is net exports of goods and services, about 1% of GNP.

Another way of determining GNP is the earnings-and-cost approach. This method accounts for alt the money received for the production of goods and services, it mea-sures receipts. Figuring gross national product by counting what people receive requires calculating what the entire country earns for the goods it makes and the services it performs. Included in earnings are such things as business profits, wages and salaries, and taxes' the government receives for its services. Also counted are interest on deposits, money received as rent, and any other forms of income.

Business and government planners, investors, and consumers make decisions based on their expectations of future economic performance. To help predict expansion or contraction of the economy, government economists identified a number of indicators. They fall into three categories: leading, coincident, and lagging. Leading economic indicators rise or fall just before a major change in economic activity. Coincident economic indicators change at about the same time that shifts occur in general economic activity. Lagging economic indicators rise or fall after a change in economic activity.

Following and interpreting all economic indicators is time-consuming. The US Commerce Department, therefore, lists a composite index, or single number, for each of the three sets of indicators. These composite indexes are an average of all the indicators in each category.

Date: 2016-03-03; view: 1742